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Juror's Statement What a fun and creative venture, judging this second annual Plates to Pixels online show. The theme this year of “Formerly and Hereafter” was artfully expressed in numerous ways in the 570 entries. The use of blur, implied movement, multiple frames, retro elements, aging of person and place, expressions of longing, and 19th century processes all contributed to a portrayal of time’s acting and passing. I viewed these 570 images through this theme to cull 65 works that I felt were strong. I was impressed with the caliber of work submitted, and it was not always easy to limit my choices. However, each of the 65 fulfilled these qualifications for me: does the photograph in its particular genre grab me in a way that makes me want to linger and read it a little longer? Does it stay with me after the initial viewing is done? Can I visually recall it in my mind’s eye? Does the image show me something in a way I have not necessarily seen before? And, especially, do I connect emotionally with the work? Daughn’s Portal, a bromoil print of a curtained window, is fairly standard as far as subject matter goes, but the way the image is rendered in the bromoil process, the tonal range of the image, creates an atmosphere of graphic beauty that brings it out of the realm of ordinary into a much more evocative place. In Hoving’s Transfiguration, the graceful gesture of a hand beckons the viewer into the dark waters. Smithson’s Didn’t Want to Leave reminds us of languishing summer days now past. Each of these three images have captured, as Roland Barthes says, “that which was” in a memorable way. And yet Dettlinger’s Hanging and Crain’s Cypremort Point 1971 are images that I connect with, too, in their confrontational matter-of-fact situations. I can’t seem to forget those feet dangling in front of the noncommittal female, nor the craggy once-stylish faces of the lawn chair occupants. And finally, you can snow this juror anytime with retro—Meek’s wallpaper/portrait combinations are thoughtfully integrated, minimal, and playful. I thank Blue Mitchell for allowing me the pleasure of jurying this exhibit and praise all photographers who submitted work to this show. It was a pleasure to view your creative work and see that the whole history of photography is very much alive and well in such contemporary expressions. Christina Z. Anderson
Congratulations to the winners: |
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Aline Smithson* Athena Nichols Cameron Young Christina Brown Courtney McManus Deanna Foran Emma Powell Jamie Lucius Jim Larimer Kirsten Hoving Michael Rigby Shelley Calton |
Andrea Land Barbara Dombach Cara Wade Colette Sowege Dalton Tarver Derrick S. Bowersock Erin Malone Jane Nodine Joan Bowers Mary Anne Mitchell Ohad Asher Sonia Melnikova-Raich |
Angela Bacon-Kidwell Blake Ogden Carrie Daughn Colleen Caporal Dan Jones Donna Moore Fred Everett Janet Matthews Joel Whitaker Marydorsey Wanless Paul Karabinis* Tatiana Paniakova |
Ashley Czajkowski Bob Gates Charles Hugh Crain Conor Peterson Daniel Robinson Emily Wang Gray Lyons Jenny Sampson John Bergholm Melissa Dettlinger Peter Wiklund Trace Meek |
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* Selected for duo exhibition in 2009 Pick up a copy of Plates to Pixels magazine in January 2009 to see this show in print! |
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